Radiate

Posted March 16th, 2011

The whole world is watching, as the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant in Japan teeters on the abyss. Will its nuclear fuel melt, resulting in a huge release of high levels of radiation? Will valiant workers get this radioactive monster back under control? Stay tuned… Radiation and cancer are often paired together. As I understand […]

Success

Posted February 22nd, 2011

I’ve changed careers, and I’m now into the world of sales. I’m new at it, and haven’t actually sold anything yet. There’s a possibility (a very small one, I hope) that I might flop in sales. It’s made me wonder if I’m really a “successful” person, and what that may or may not mean. Does […]

Valentine’s Day

Posted February 14th, 2011

It’s the day we celebrate the one we love. How that love is shaped depends on the couple. Relationships have a different meaning for cancer survivors. Cancer can make a relationship stronger or tear it apart. I remember a number of phone calls with a guy in the Boston area, whose wife was going through […]

Why You Should Like the Weather Channel and Classical Music

Posted January 31st, 2011

When I was going through treatment, I took an especial liking to the Weather Channel. My future was so uncertain. Live or die? In or out of the hospital? Sickness or health? It was a toss up. But no matter my situation, there was always tomorrow, and I was fairly certain I’d make it to […]

The New Year’s Resolution

Posted January 3rd, 2011

It’s a perennial favorite. The New Year’s resolution. Not only do you hear about them, but you hear about how fruitless they are for most people. When asked if I have a New Year’s resolution, I usually respond, yes, to give up New Year’s resolutions. This year is different, I swear. Change can be difficult, […]

“All I Want for Christmas” or “Am I Bad Person?”

Posted December 15th, 2010

I was a greedy little urchin when it came to Christmas. When I was a kid, the main purpose of Christmas was to expand my growing G. I. Joe empire. I didn’t have just one G.I. Joe, but a whole platoon of them, including a kung fu grip G.I. Joe. The training tower, the Jeep, […]

Would You Want to be in the Box?

Posted November 29th, 2010

Is there anything worse than death? Well, maybe. Is a “bad” death is worse than a “good” death? This week I watched an episode of the PBS Frontline series, Facing Death, which is about how patients, families and the medical system deal with “end of life” treatment. If you missed it, you can watch it […]

The Teddy Bear for Adults

Posted November 2nd, 2010

Our lives are constantly changing. Sometimes that change is at a glacial speed. It’s just another day at the office. The same ‘ol same ‘ol every day. Sometimes that change is lightning fast and will forever impact your life. A lay off, the sudden death of a loved one, maybe a cancer diagnosis. The only […]

31

Posted October 8th, 2010

After I had my allogeneic bone marrow transplant (for relapsed Hodgkin’s lymphoma) in 2003, I read that American men, on average, lived to be 77 years old. Those going through such transplants, surviving the procedure and side effects, an

The Pile of Bodies

Posted September 13th, 2010

For those us whose treatment has gone well, we often thank our treating physicians.  We might pat ourselves on the back for soldiering through miserable chemotherapy, surgery and/or radiation.  We might thank those lab coated researchers and the unfortunate furry creatures researchers do terrible things to. But we should also thank those that have gone […]